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The Gower is a fantastic place for a free family day out. A footpath from the village of Pitton leads through a National Trust-owned grass valley to the secluded Mewslade Bay. Although it isn't the best for swimming, this beautiful, sandy beach has plenty of caves and rockpools for children to explore. The dramatic clifftop footpath which continues towards Rhossili Bay is dotted with old forts and there are more caves marked on the map, so children can be kept entertained with stories of smugglers and pirates.
Mewslade Bay near Rhossili, The Gower Peninsula, Wales
Google map: bit.ly/9B5SEi
Twinkling blue seas, white sails, faraway views, beaches, birds and blossoms! And yes, some palm trees. A stone's throw from good rail and road links, by car or bus, yet Hayling's few miles offer peace and beauty.
Stop at the bridge for two good pubs, the Ship and the Royal Oak, then cross to the island, carry straight on for about five miles to reach the seafront. Or turn left at the bridge for leafy country lanes, and pretty Northney with its ancient church, or West Lane (by the bends) for fields and trees.
The Billy Trail (once a rail track) overlooking Langstone Harbour and distant Portsmouth, can be walked or cycled. The uncrowded western shore, past the wind and kite surfers, offers views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight and a pub and ferry to Southsea. At the eastern end, there's the entrance to Chichester Harbour (AONB) looking across to West Wittering and the South Downs, with sailing clubs, marina, RNLI station and Marina Jaks' restaurant. There are boats everywhere, and seaside delights - holiday camps, beach huts, funfair, ice-cream, a train ride across the common, pubs, fish and chips. Plus, regular sailing events, scarecrow competion (Aug), and artists' trail (May). The weather's often surprisingly benign, and the locals, on perpetual holiday, are friendly!
Hayling Island is next to Portsmouth, in Hampshire. Frequent trains from London and along the south coast to Havant station, very near bus station. Just off A27, linking to M27 & A3(M) Plenty of car parks, but car park charges. www.hayling.co.uk/
Google map: bit.ly/9XaxGT
Understated and just under 4 hours by ferry from Oban, Tiree sits as the most westerly of the Inner Hebrides.Its single track roads ribbon round the island and will transport you to any number of magnificent beaches which are usually pretty deserted even in the height of summer.There you'll see basking sharks,seals,dolphins,otters running in and out of the sea and vertically diving gannets.During the summer months you can hear the distinctive sound of the elusive corncrake all over the island.Take an evening hike up Ceann a' Mhara and with the setting sun on your right, look straight into the Atlantic and see the amazing Skerryvore Lighthouse.
Stark.Silent.Magical.
Listen to Radio 4's Shipping Forecast for regular weather updates, especially windspeeds.
A daily flight from Glasgow arrives with the Guardian! Bliss.
Ferry www.calmac.co.uk
Daily flight(ex Sunday) flybe.com
Family accommodation www.heylipol.com
Bulungula Lodge is not only paradise it is the essence of responsible tourism.
It is not the easiest place to get to, you have to make the effort, but it is worth it. Accommodation is in beautiful huts (doubles, twins or small dorms) with views of the sea or forest. The sun provides solar power and people provide smiles.
It is 40% owned by the local community and has helped to set up 100% community-owned and run businesses.
You can relax and get away from it all or join in and volunteer to help out on a project. See website for further information.
bulungula.com
+27 47 577 8900
Aegiali of Amorgos is situated at the northern tip of the island and is its second port. The beautiful villages of Potamos, Tholaria and Langada are built on the slopes of the bay and give the area a special beauty. Aegiali, with its many wonderful beaches, is one of the best places to spend your holidays on the island.
With the credit crunch really starting to bite and the Euro being so bad against the pound, I'd like to recommend North Cyprus as the place to go on holiday. I've been going on a regular basis for many years and have completely fallen in love with the place.
Apart from being exceptionally good value for money, North Cyprus has so much to offer - great beaches, beautiful historic sites, amazing wildlife, fantastic but cheap restaurants, friendly locals and much more. I go there to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and always come home feeling completely relaxed (even when I've taken the kids).
I always stay at the Mountain View Hotel, a 3-star English/Cypriot family run hotel in Kyrenia, as I'm made to feel so at home and am always shown to the best local restaurants. If you haven't been - North Cyprus really is a must visit place!
For accomodation- www.northcyprusmountainview.com
For cheap, great value flights-
www.cyprusdirectholidays.com
For info about north cyprus -
www.cypnet.co.uk
Izmir is one of the most beautiful cities in Turkey and it has many historical places like Ephesus. It is a city nearby the sea, it has wonderful beaches to swim and take boat tours.
Although Sea Isle is a great vacation town, there is a village that is virtually unknown, even to most people in Philadelphia. Cape May Point at the very southern tip of New Jersey, has gorgeous beaches surrounding a small charming village that is known worldwide for bird and butterfly migrations. A vacation at “The Point” is a vacation like no other. A quiet place for families or couples who are looking to renew their connection to nature and calm their spirit. A true holiday getaway.
The historic town of Cape May with highly rated restaurants and wonderful little shops is a mere two miles away. An early morning walk to Cape May for breakfast takes you past the Nature Conservancy’s South Cape May Meadow, a significant birding area. As the sun comes up over the Atlantic Ocean you can watch dolphins frolicking just offshore. It may just be the most beautiful two miles of beach on the entire coast.
One of the nicest homes for rental can be found in an online search of “SeaScape Cape May Point”.
I spent a day on a sea kayaking trip with Hvar Adventure. It was great experience in amazing surroundings. Loved it and recommend it.
Florida or New York: the US Holiday dilemma - well how about both?
My husband and I are often torn about what type of vacation we want. He shouts for a beachy “do nothing” holiday and I champion the cultural/shopping holiday, and usually at least one of us ends up dissatisfied. When this last year we decided that our extended family would be all joining on holiday together… well we just thought it would be a disaster in the making. Four hotel rooms for a week in New York were expensive, as was the resort in Florida. But neither would suit because some wanted beach, some city and things were looking dim.
But amazingly last summer we somehow managed to sort out a holiday that suited all tastes. White sand beaches and blazing sun that’s one hour from Philadelphia and two hours from New York - the “Jersey shore”. And no we don’t mean channel island Jersey, but rather “Jersey” as it’s known in New Jersey. For those of you who are “Sopranos” fans like me may not have believed it, but in the Southern part of New Jersey, near the state of Maryland there are a series of islands off the coast with gorgeous white sand beaches and lots to do.
Our family rented a beachfront five bedroom home to accommodate all of us. We had a wide sandy beach, swimming, fishing, jet skis and all of the normal water sport fun, but also were able to do two glittery nights of gambling and shows in Atlantic City, a day of bargain high-end “outlet shopping” (both 20 minutes from our rental home), a day trip to New York, and one more to Philadelphia. Rather than pay for hotel rooms with no views and no options but dining out, we had an entire spacious home with kitchen and three private sun decks overlooking the ocean. As far as location you cannot do much better really. We were in easy distance of New York, Philadelphia, Atlantic City and Washington D.C. with the option of just doing nothing and sitting on the beach/decks all day. And with parking for three cars, we had options. Some went shopping, some to the city, some to water ski, and some just stayed on the beach.
We are going again this summer and feel convinced that we still have plenty more to do/see and plenty more to not do/see while lounging on the beach. Ideal!
The beach house we have rented:
njshorehouserental.com
Sea Isle City, NJ
I had no idea you can rock climb in halong bay until I was recommended it by my travel agent. Its amazing, better than Krabi and so much fun. Its beautiful, you can sleep in basic accommodation on an island, away from the crowds. They are super professional and great fun to learn with.
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A brilliant sailing cruise in Santorini. It makes you feel Greek! I found the price to be cheaper than other cruises on the island.
We payed euro 700.00 for a group of nine people and that included transfers from and to the hotel. We also had pre-arranged what we would like to eat as some of us are vegetarian.
The boat is a beautiful wooden Greek sailboat with plenty of space to relax, enough shaded areas (especially for me that likes the sun but not all day) and the meals are traditional Greek.
I booked via email with them for me and a small group of friends for a half day trip and ended up booking them twice more while in Santorini.
I would recommend this particular boat for small groups or family's that just want to feel the real thing.
I live in Azóia near Cabo da Roca, the most westerly point of mainland Europe - “where the land ends and the sea begins”. I can see the farol lighthouse through my window and in the spring the cliff tops will be covered with a carpet of colour.
This is a place for walking and I have already completed several walks, some alone and some with my family.
If anyone would like to share these walks check out my blog for details.
Independent recommendations, bookings and itineraries from a well-connected team. From villas to hotels, staff to boat hire, tours to restaurant bookings.
My partner and I chose this hotel because of its location in Santa Teresa, the bohemian neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. It's a lovely property with clean and well sized rooms, beautiful public spaces inside and out and a breathtaking view from our room and from the pool. The owners were happy to suggest places to eat and enjoy the Brazilian night life and gave us all the advice we needed for exploring the city. Highly recommended!!
Spacious and affordable ensuite rooms on the quieter north side of Palolem Beach in South Goa. Only 50 yards from the sea!
Haena Beach on the Big Island was one of my favourite beaches along with the north shore of Kauai. The north shores of all the islands are spectacular, especially during the winter with all the big waves (but this means it can be very windy for camping.)
There is one beach (also a campsite) on the north shore of Kauai, also called Haena (if I remember correctly) which is at one end of the Napali coast. It means that you can make it your base before hiking along the coast, as there are small and big treks along this coast to beautiful waterfalls and beaches that you can only get to by foot. There is a lot of reef off the north shore, which makes for good waves, and also some good snorkeling. We were able to see a whole family of turtles while we were there.
There are not any real sand beaches in Hydra, only pebble ones. Some of them are Spilia, Kamini, Vlyhos. Try the organized ones, Agios Nikolaos, Mandraki and Bisti.
Having just returned from Heron Island, we can thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants to enjoy an easy few days, whilst capturing some of the most amazing natural sights. It is off the coast of Gladstone, Queensland.
Between December and March, female turtles come on the island to lay their eggs. Between January and March turtle hatchlings scramble to the sea. It is a great place to enjoy great beaches, great snorkeling and diving and nature at its most natural. Go on the free talks and walks early on and learn how to behave so that you watch but don’t interfere with the natural cycles on the island. I recommend the Beach House. It’s the most expensive accommodation, but is the most comfortable and is situated on the beach. If you get travel sick, try the helicopter, a much easier way of getting to the island, although there is a cost consideration.
Heron Island was the best part of a long trip. Highly recommended for experiences you won't forget.
This little town on a beautiful island off the coast of Salvador is a must. No cars. The taxis for luggage only are wheelbarrows.
Connected to Salvador by catamaran service or by small prop plane (max 12Kg weight limit). The beaches are fabulous. The second beach is full of bars, surfers and chilled beach goers who like to party late into the night. I'd recommend taking a pousada on the third beach. The bars along here serve excellent caipirinha at about R$2!
In the centre of town you can find food to suit all tastes and budgets along the sandy main street. Be fluid with onward travel plans - you may just add a few days to your stay here on this lovely island getaway!
Morro de São Paulo
Tinharé Island - Bahia
Info: www.morrodesaopaulo.com.br
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